$12M in grants awarded to protect Virginia land

RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia’s governor has announced some $12 million in grants to protect almost 4,000 historically significant acres.

Gov. Terry McAuliffe’ office said in a news release Thursday that nine projects will be funded with grants from the Virginia Land Conservation Foundation.

The grants include one to the Chickahominy Indian Tribe to support the acquisition of tribal lands along the James River, known to them as the Powhatan.

Another will support the acquisition of Belmead on the James, a plantation constructed around 1845. The plantation was converted into a school for 15,000 African American and Native American students. The school closed in the 1970s.

Funding for the grants comes from Dominion Energy. It’s as part of an agreement to mitigate the adverse impact to historic resources of the Surry-Skiffes Creek Transmission Line.

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